Elevated monocyte-specific type I interferon signalling correlates positively with cardiac healing in myocardial infarct patients but interferon alpha application deteriorates myocardial healing in rats.

Monocytes are involved in adverse left ventricular (LV) remodelling following myocardial infarction (MI). To provide therapeutic opportunities we aimed to identify gene transcripts in monocytes that relate to post-MI healing and evaluated intervention with the observed gene activity in a rat MI model. In 51 MI patients treated by primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), the change in LV end-diastolic volume index (EDVi) from baseline to 4-month follow-up was assessed using cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMR). Circulating monocytes were collected at day 5 (Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 35:1066-1070, 2015; Cell Stem Cell 16:477-487, 2015; Curr Med Chem 13:1877-1893, 2006) after primary PCI for transcriptome analysis. Transcriptional profiling and pathway analysis revealed that patients with a decreased LV EDVi showed an induction of type I interferon (IFN) signalling (type I IFN pathway: P value < 0.001; false discovery rate < 0.001). We subsequently administered 15,000 Units of IFN-α subcutaneously in a rat MI model for three consecutive days following MI. Cardiac function was measured using echocardiography and infarct size/cardiac inflammation using (immuno)-histochemical analysis. We found that IFN-α application deteriorated ventricular dilatation and increased infarct size at day 28 post-MI. Moreover, IFN-α changed the peripheral monocyte subset distribution towards the pro-inflammatory monocyte subset whereas in the myocardium, the presence of the alternative macrophage subset was increased at day 3 post-MI. Our findings suggest that induction of type I IFN signalling in human monocytes coincides with adverse LV remodelling. In rats, however, IFN-α administration deteriorated post-MI healing. These findings underscore important but also contradictory roles for the type I IFN response during cardiac healing following MI.

Implementation of flow cytometry in the diagnostic work-up of myelodysplastic syndromes in a multicenter approach: report from the Dutch Working Party on Flow Cytometry in MDS.

Flow cytometry (FC) is recognized as an important tool in the diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) especially when standard criteria fail. A working group within the Dutch Society of Cytometry aimed to implement FC in the diagnostic work-up of MDS. Hereto, guidelines for data acquisition, analysis and interpretation were formulated. Based on discussions on analyses of list mode data files and fresh MDS bone marrow samples and recent literature, the guidelines were modified. Over the years (2005-2011), the concordance between the participating centers increased indicating that the proposed guidelines contributed to a more objective, standardized FC analysis, thereby ratifying the implementation of FC in MDS.

A proinflammatory monocyte response is associated with myocardial injury and impaired functional outcome in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: monocytes and myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND: In patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), the importance of a well-balanced inflammatory reaction has been recognized for years. Monocytes play essential roles in regulating inflammation. Hence, we investigated the association between inflammatory characteristics of monocytes and myocardial injury and functional outcome in patients with STEMI. METHODS: Using flow cytometry, the levels of classical (CD14(++)CD62L(+)) and nonclassical (CD14(+)CD62L(-)) monocytes were analyzed in peripheral blood in 58 patients with STEMI at a median of 5 days (4-6 days) after primary percutaneous coronary intervention. In addition, the monocytic expression of several surface molecules and formation of monocyte-platelet complexes were measured. All patients underwent cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging at baseline and 4-month follow-up. RESULTS: At baseline, patients with high levels of classical monocytes had impaired left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (P = .002), larger infarct size (P = .001), and, often, presence of microvascular obstruction (P = .003). At follow-up, high levels of classical monocytes were negatively associated with the regional systolic LV function independent of the transmural extent of infarction. In contrast, positive associations for the levels of nonclassical monocytes were observed. Finally, up-regulation of macrophage 1 by blood monocytes and increased formation of monocyte-platelet complexes were associated with enhanced myocardial injury at baseline and impaired LV function at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows an association between a proinflammatory monocyte response, characterized by high levels of classical monocytes, and severe myocardial injury and poor functional outcome after STEMI. Future studies are required to investigate the biologic nature of this association and therapeutic implications.

Elevated endothelial progenitor cells during painful sickle cell crisis.

OBJECTIVE: Circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) counts were determined in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) to elucidate their role in SCD-related ischemia-induced angiogenesis and reendothelialization. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Circulating EPC counts (KDR(+)/CD34(+)/Cd45(dim) cells) and their relation to serum levels of EPC mobilizing growth factors erythropoietin, vascular endothelial growth factor, and interleukin-8 were investigated in SCD patients during asymptomatic state (n=66) and painful crisis (n=36) and compared to healthy controls (n=13). RESULTS: EPC counts were comparable between controls (0; range, 0-1.1 cells/mL) and patients (0; range, 0-0 cells/mL) in asymptomatic state, but were significantly higher during painful crisis (41.7; range, 0-186 cells/mL; p<0.05). Also in a paired analysis of 12 patients who were included both during asymptomatic state and painful crisis, EPC counts increased significantly during painful crisis (from 0 [range, 0-0] to 26 [range, 0-149 cell/mL; p<0.05). EPC counts were not related to any of the measured growth factors. CONCLUSION: The higher EPC counts during painful crisis might indicate a role for EPC mobilization in reendothelialization. As a relationship of EPCs with the established mobilizing growth factors, measured in this study was not observed, the mechanism of EPC mobilization in SCD remains to be elucidated.

Recovery and functional activity of mononuclear bone marrow and peripheral blood cells after different cell isolation protocols used in clinical trials for cell therapy after acute myocardial infarction.

AIMS: Clinical trials showed contradictory results in functional recovery after intracoronary infusion of autologous mononuclear (bone marrow) cells in patients with acute myocardial infarction. A recent study suggests that this might be related to the isolation protocol used. In The Netherlands, a comparable randomised multicentre trial (HEBE) was designed. To validate the isolation method of bone marrow and peripheral blood-derived mononuclear cells, we compared our processing protocol with methods comparable to the ASTAMI (no beneficial effect) and the REPAIR-AMI study (beneficial effect). METHODS AND RESULTS: The effect of several factors (density gradient, washing buffer and centrifugation speed) has been studied on recovery and function (migration and clonogenic capacity) of mononuclear cells. Significantly lower cell recoveries were found at a centrifugation speed of 250 g, compared to 600 or 800 g, respectively. Furthermore, washing buffer without supplemented human serum albumin and heparin resulted in significantly lower cell recovery and functional impairment as measured by clonogenic capacity. CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study justify the cell-processing protocol as applied in the HEBE trial (600 g, human serum albumin supplemented washing buffer). This protocol results in viable and functional cells of which the quantity and quality is at least comparable to a successful study like the REPAIR-AMI.

VCAM-1-mediated Rac signaling controls endothelial cell-cell contacts and leukocyte transmigration.

Leukocyte adhesion is mediated totally and transendothelial migration partially by heterotypic interactions between the beta1- and beta2-integrins on the leukocytes and their ligands, Ig-like cell adhesion molecules (Ig-CAM), VCAM-1, and ICAM-1, on the endothelium. Both integrins and Ig-CAMs are known to have signaling capacities. In this study we analyzed the role of VCAM-1-mediated signaling in the control of endothelial cell-cell adhesion and leukocyte transendothelial migration. Antibody-mediated cross-linking of VCAM-1 on IL-1beta-activated primary human umbilical vein endothelial cells (pHUVEC) induced actin stress fiber formation, contractility, and intercellular gaps. The effects induced by VCAM-1 cross-linking were inhibited by C3 toxin, indicating that the small GTPase p21Rho is involved. In addition, the effects of VCAM-1 were accompanied by activation of Rac, which we recently showed induce intercellular gaps in pHUVEC in a Rho-dependent fashion. With the use of a cell-permeable peptide inhibitor, it was shown that Rac signaling is required for VCAM-1-mediated loss of cell-cell adhesion. Furthermore, VCAM-1-mediated signaling toward cell-cell junctions was accompanied by, and dependent on, Rac-mediated production of reactive oxygen species and activation of p38 MAPK. In addition, it was found that inhibition of Rac-mediated signaling blocks transendothelial migration of monocytic U937 cells. Together, these data indicate that VCAM-1-induced, Rac-dependent signaling plays a key role in the modulation of vascular-endothelial cadherin-mediated endothelial cell-cell adhesion and leukocyte extravasation.